California: Zoo List

Jonas, thanks very much for your list of 87 California zoos, although I spent an hour or so going through your list and analyzing websites and in the end I decided to leave my list of 71 just as it is. In my master list of approximately 700 zoos in the United States I have not included any private facilities unless they are open for weekend tours or pre-booked appointments for the general public. If I cannot easily visit an establishment on one of my long road trips then how can a private institution be a zoo? Also, I often think that natural history museums are also tough to lump in with zoos unless they have a substantial live animal collection. However, I respect all opinions when it comes to zoo lists as we each have to individually determine what is and isn't a "zoo" and that is something that many of us wrestle with on a consistent basis.

A few odds n' ends:

- The Ty Warner Sea Center in Santa Barbara is now known as the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center
- Insect Lore Bugseum in Shafter closed down last year
- The Serpentarium in Lodi is the "Living Reptile Museum" headquarters as there are two additional facilities in Elk Grove and Roseville. Of the trio of Serpentariums, the one in Lodi charges an admission fee while the other two are free and basically large pet shops. I personally would only include the Lodi establishment as a "zoo" but as I said before that is always going to be a grey zone for all of us zoo nerds
- Does Hearst Castle only have one species on site (zebra)? I suppose that it would be intriguing to see some of the now dilapidated animal enclosures

Jonas, I'd love to see your list of Florida zoos as I have a total of 82 but I'm guessing that with all of the private collections and natural history museums you might be closer to 100. At the end of the thread below there is a total of 82 Florida "zoos" and I'd be intrigued to see what others you would include:

http://www.zoochat.com/22/florida-zoo-list-385476/
 
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snowleopard said:
- Does Hearst Castle only have one species on site (zebra)? I suppose that it would be intriguing to see some of the now dilapidated animal enclosures
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Here's information on the history of the Hearst zoo, what animals it contained, and what happened to the zoo after it shut down.

Hearst Castle Private Zoo

Here is a picture of Julian Morgan, Hearst's zoo and castle architect, and the Hearst Zoo elephant: http://pantograph-punch.com/images/old/2013/05/jmorgelephant.jpg
 
Sorry for my late answer, I have been quite busy the last days. Thanks for all your comments, corrections and additions. They all very interesting!

Arizona Docent said:
I am intrigued by the place in Sunland - Shadow Hills Zoological Park. I grew up right next to Sunland in La Crescenta, assuming that is the same Sunland. (I could see a popular name like that being used in more than one place in California). Can you tell me what it is about?
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Shadow Hills Zoological Park used to be a very small private collection of birds. It has been dismantled since my visit in 2013 but it used to be very small indeed and I have included it in my list only because I had a chance to visit.

DavidBrown said:
The zoo at Hearst Castle closed in the 1930s when Hearst gave away his animals. You can still see some of the old bear and big cat grottoes on the tour and there are still some zebras running around, but that's it.
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As there is still captive zebras which are on exhibit, I consider this place as a zoological institution. The fact it used to be a major private collection (now abandonned) definetely helps (I may hesitate to include a place which is only having a few zebras and had never any other species or ambition).

snowleopard said:
Although I spent an hour or so going through your list and analyzing websites and in the end I decided to leave my list of 71 just as it is.
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Fair enough, I totally understand your position. I tend to include more easily natural history museums and botanical gardens as zoological institutions (even when their live collection is limited) as all these instititions are historically related and sharing some goals, frameworks and structures.

snowleopard said:
I'd love to see your list of Florida zoos as I have a total of 82 but I'm guessing that with all of the private collections and natural history museums you might be closer to 100. At the end of the thread below there is a total of 82 Florida "zoos" and I'd be intrigued to see what others you would include.
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My list of zoos in Florida is limited to 53 institutions as I have never been working thoroughly on it. Your own list sounds very interesting and I will have a closer look at it as soon as I have the time. Currently I am planning a new trip to the USA (New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC) and I am doing some research about zoos in these states. :)

Jonas
 
@JonasLivet - Hearst Castle does NOT have CAPTIVE zebras. They are free roaming descendants of those that were released when the zoo closed in the 1930's.
 
An updated list:

70 California Zoos (including 21 aquatic facilities):

America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (Moorpark)
Applegate Park Zoo (Merced)
Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)*
Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)*
Aquatica (San Diego) - does this place count?
B. Bryan Preserve (Point Arena)
Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake)
Birch Aquarium (San Diego)*
Bolsa Chica Interpretative Center (Huntington Beach)
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)*
California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco)* = Steinhart Aquarium
California Raptor Center (Davis)
California Science Center (Los Angeles)*
California Living Museum (Bakersfield)
California Wolf Center (Julian)
Central Coast Aquarium (Avila Beach)
Charles Paddock Zoo (Atascadero)*
CuriOdyssey (San Mateo)*
Doheny State Beach Interpret. Center & Aquarium (Dana Point)
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (Fallbrook)
Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond)
Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom)
Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan)
Free Flight: Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar)
Fresno Chaffee Zoo (Fresno)*
Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita)
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose)*
Hesperia Zoo (Hesperia)
Lindsay Wildlife Experience (Walnut Creek)
Lions Tigers & Bears: A Big Cat & Exotic Animal Rescue (Alpine)
Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista)
Living Desert Zoo (Palm Desert)*
Los Angeles Zoo (Los Angeles)*
Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro)
Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito)
Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi)
Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey)*
Monterey Zoo (Salinas)
Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay)
Natural History Museum: Butterfly Pavilion (Los Angeles)
Oakland Zoo (Oakland)*
Ocean Institute (Dana Point)
Ocean World (Crescent City)
Orange County Zoo (Orange)
Pacific Marine Mammal Center (Laguna Beach)
Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (Palo Alto)
Project Survival’s Cat Haven (Dunlap)
Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley)
Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach)
Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento)*
Safari West Wildlife Preserve (Sonoma County)*
San Diego Zoo (San Diego)*
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido)*
San Francisco Zoo (San Francisco)*
Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana)*
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center (Santa Barbara)
Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara)*
Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (Santa Monica)
Sea Life Carlsbad (Carlsbad)
SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)*
Sequoia Park Zoo (Eureka)*
Serpentarium (Lodi)
Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz)
Shambala Preserve (Acton)
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo)
Star Eco Station: Exotic Wildlife Rescue Facility (Culver City)
Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding)
Wildhaven Ranch (Lake Arrowhead)
Wildlife Learning Center (Sylmar)
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary (Lucerne Valley)

* 23 zoos in California are AZA-accredited.
 
That is a huge number (compared to my neighboring state of Arizona, which only has around ten). What is surprising is that there is not another regular zoo besides Los Angeles Zoo in the L.A. area. As I have stated on other threads, the zoo is crowded on busy days to the point of being totally unenjoyable for anyone. There is no question in my mind that a major population center like San Fernando Valley or San Gabriel Valley could support a zoo.
 
Arizona Docent said:
That is a huge number (compared to my neighboring state of Arizona, which only has around ten). What is surprising is that there is not another regular zoo besides Los Angeles Zoo in the L.A. area. As I have stated on other threads, the zoo is crowded on busy days to the point of being totally unenjoyable for anyone. There is no question in my mind that a major population center like San Fernando Valley or San Gabriel Valley could support a zoo.
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One fact about the Los Angeles Zoo that is a bit of a joke is that the hours are 10-5 daily. That is a late opening for a major metropolitan zoo, plus the website states that "the zoo starts putting animals in for the night at 4 p.m.". Usually in these cases the short hours relate to staffing issues, but for a zoo located in a fantastic climate it is very disappointing. Also, many animals are outside from 10-4 and then spend the other 18 hours locked in their smaller holding zones. Why doesn't the zoo open at 9:00 and remain open until 6:00-7:00 at night? More hours for workers but also more hours for families to spend tons of cash...and way better for the animals.

In regards to your comment about Arizona having 10 zoos, you might want to just about double that number!

OdySea Aquarium - opens this year
Dolpinaris - opens this year

Plus......

17 Arizona Zoos:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson)*
Bearizona (Williams)
Butterfly Wonderland (Scottsdale)
Camel Farm (Yuma)
Grand Canyon Deer Farm (Williams)
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (Prescott)
Keepers of the Wild (Valentine)
Navajo Nation Zoo (Window Rock)
Oasis Sanctuary (Cascabel)
Out of Africa Wildlife Park (Camp Verde)
Phoenix Herpetological Society (Scottsdale)
Phoenix Zoo (Phoenix)*
Reid Park Zoo (Tucson)*
Sea Life Arizona (Tempe)
Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (Scottsdale)
Superstition Serpentarium (Apache Junction)
Wildlife World Zoo (Litchfield Park)

* 3 zoos in Arizona are AZA-accredited (a surprisingly low number)
I've visited 12 of these 17 zoos
 
According to their website the only animal exhibits at the California Aquatica are flamingos and freshwater turtles.
 
I was just informed of another zoo for the California list: Sulphur Creek Nature Center. That establishment, along with the tiny facility Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, brings the grand total of "zoos" in California up to 72.
 
snowleopard said:
I was just informed of another zoo for the California list: Sulphur Creek Nature Center. That establishment, along with the tiny facility Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, brings the grand total of "zoos" in California up to 72.
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I found out, via emailing the business, that the Serpentarium in Lodi is no longer a reptile zoo/museum and in fact all 4 of the Serpentarium facilities are retail pet shops. Therefore, it makes sense to remove it from the list. Also, I'm still conflicted with Aquatica San Diego because with only flamingos and freshwater turtles one could argue that the establishment is not really a zoo although I'm conflicted as to whether to count it or not. Aquatica San Antonio has an enormous walk-through aviary with many bird species, some macaws on sticks, a tortoise exhibit and a massive stingray pool. I'm fine with that facility being deemed a zoo but at the San Diego location the term "zoo" is much more tenuous. It is probably worth visiting because one day if the facility adds a major zoological exhibit then one could say that they had already visited "back in the day".
 
I have a friend from Europe who is looking at a California zoo trip in 2021 (if Covid even makes that possible!) and he wanted an updated list of zoological delights in the state. Is there anything missing from the 71 facilities that I've provided below?

California Zoo List (48 zoos & 23 aquariums) – I've visited 61 out of the 71 'zoos'

71 California Zoos:

**America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (Moorpark)
**Applegate Park Zoo (Merced)
**Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)
**Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)
**B. Bryan Preserve (Point Arena)
Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake) - not yet open after years of construction
**Birch Aquarium (San Diego)
**Bolsa Chica Interpretative Center (Huntington Beach)
**Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)
**California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco)
**California Raptor Center (Davis)
**California Science Center (Los Angeles)
**California Living Museum (Bakersfield)
**California Wolf Center (Julian)
**Central Coast Aquarium (Avila Beach)
**Charles Paddock Zoo (Atascadero)
**CuriOdyssey (San Mateo)
**Doheny State Beach Interpret. Center & Aquarium (Dana Point)
EcoVivarium (Escondido)
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (Fallbrook)
**Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond)
**Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom)
**Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan)
**Free Flight: Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar)
**Fresno Chaffee Zoo (Fresno)
**Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita)
**Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose)
Hesperia Zoo (Hesperia)
**Lindsay Wildlife Experience (Walnut Creek)
Lions, Tigers & Bears: A Big Cat & Exotic Animal Rescue (Alpine)
**Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista)
**Living Desert Zoo (Palm Desert)
**Los Angeles Zoo (Los Angeles)
**Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro)
**Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito)
**Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi)
**Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey)
**Monterey Zoo (Salinas)
**Natural History Museum: Butterfly Pavilion (Los Angeles)
**Northcoast Marine Mammal Center (Crescent City)
**Oakland Zoo (Oakland)
**Ocean Institute (Dana Point)
**Ocean World (Crescent City)
**Orange County Zoo (Orange)
**Pacific Marine Mammal Center (Laguna Beach)
**Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (Palo Alto)
**Project Survival’s Cat Haven (Dunlap)
**Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley)
**Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach)
**Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento)
**Safari West Wildlife Preserve (Sonoma County)
**San Diego Zoo (San Diego)
**San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido)
**San Francisco Zoo (San Francisco)
**Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana)
**Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center (Santa Barbara)
**Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara)
**Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (Santa Monica)
**Sea Life Carlsbad (Carlsbad)
SeaQuest Aquarium (Folsom)
**SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)
**Sequoia Park Zoo (Eureka)
**Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz)
Shambala Preserve (Acton)
**Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo)
Star Eco Station: Exotic Wildlife Rescue Facility (Culver City)
**Sulphur Creek Nature Center (Hayward)
**Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding)
Wildhaven Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary (Lake Arrowhead)
**Wildlife Learning Center (Sylmar)
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary (Lucerne Valley)

** the 61 zoos that I've personally visited over the years (most of them in 2017); the aquariums are in bold

California is an amazing location for zoo enthusiasts, with a bounty of places to visit from the north to the south of the 'golden state'. However, if one is looking at only visiting high-caliber places then the list above can be dramatically shortened. California definitely has the good, the bad and the ugly in terms of zoos and I've been through the state visiting zoos in 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2017.

The poor establishments would include places like America's Teaching Zoo (a training ground for keepers with subpar exhibits), California Raptor Center (a good cause but disappointing aviaries), Feline Conservation Center, Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary, Free Flight Bird Sanctuary, Ocean World Aquarium, Reptile Zoo (ghastly), Roundhouse Aquarium, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, Six Flags and Wildlife Learning Center. That makes 11 zoos that I would never return to unless there were some serious upgrades.

Then there's Emerald Forest Bird Gardens, Hesperia Zoo, Lions Tigers & Bears, SeaQuest Aquarium, Shambala Preserve, Star Eco Station and Wildhaven Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary that make it 7 places that I have not visited but none of them look very impressive at all and several appear to be downright shoddy.

Moving upwards in quality, there are some obscure places like Applegate Park Zoo, B. Bryan Preserve, California Wolf Center, Gibbon Conservation Center, Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, Lindsay Wildlife Experience, Monterey Zoo, several Marine Mammal Centers all down the coast, Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, Cat Haven (only felines), Santa Ana Zoo (some very poor primate cages that have been there for 60+ years) and several other places that are probably not very appealing except to hardcore zoo nerds.

If a zoo enthusiast was to plan a trip to California then obviously there are some truly memorable facilities that would need to be visited. These 12 attractions all received full reviews in my zoo book:

San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
San Diego SeaWorld (divisive, but still hugely popular and worth visiting)
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Living Desert Zoo
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
Aquarium of the Pacific
Oakland Zoo
San Francisco Zoo
California Academy of Sciences
Sacramento Zoo

If you're already in San Francisco, then the Aquarium of the Bay is worth seeing and it has a spectacular underwater tunnel. Birch Aquarium is small but delightful, with an outstanding location looking down on the Pacific Ocean. California Living Museum is a bit underrated. Living Coast Discovery Center is also underrated and quite nice. Safari West has some good sections but it is extremely expensive. Sequoia Park Zoo is a little gem.
 
I recently purchased the book The Animals Next Door: A Guide to Zoos and Aquariums of the Americas (Harry Gersh, 1971) and the publication is a fascinating time capsule because it is exactly 50 years old. The first 67 pages consist of 7 chapters that offer up basic information about the history of zoos and various animals, and there is essentially nothing of note for a zoo nerd.

However, there is an intriguing directory that takes up almost 100 pages of the book and it's interesting to see what zoos were around a half-century ago. Just looking only at California, there was the Atascadero County Park Zoo, run by a certain Charles S. Paddock, and of course these days that zoo is the Charles Paddock Zoo.

There was also the Big Bear Lake Deer Park (50 deer specimens); Movieland Animal Park with elephants, chimpanzees, lions and "camel races" along with 87 mammal species; the Japanese Village and Deer Park with a killer whale, dolphins, sea lions and other animals; Shipwreck Deep Sea Aquarium (circa 40 species); Ralph Helfer's Africa U.S.A.; Hermosa Reptile and Wild Animal Farm (450 reptile/amphibian species!); Wharf Aquarium; a trio of Oakland zoos (Children's Fairytale U.S.A./Knowland Park Zoo/Oakland Baby Zoo); Marineland of the Pacific; Hoagy's Pet Shop & Children's Zoo; and Jungleland Inc.

San Diego Zoo is listed as having 1,124 bird species, 250 mammal species and 269 reptile/amphibian species.

San Diego SeaWorld had Shamu the trained killer whale and Google the Great, the "world's only trained elephant seal".
 
snowleopard said:
...there is an intriguing directory that takes up almost 100 pages of the book and it's interesting to see what zoos were around a half-century ago. Just looking only at California...
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As a child in Los Angeles I visited these now-closed places: Busch Gardens, Japanese Deer Park, California Alligator Farm, Marineland. As an adult I visited the now-closed Ontario Mills indoor zoo (I forget the actual name) and Tiger Rescue (or something like that - a mess of a place in Colton).
 
snowleopard said:
Shambala Preserve (Acton)
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This is gone now.
I would also like to add one aquarium that is public but it’s much harder to actually get there than to get into the aquarium. The Pennington Marine center is located on Catalina Island. It is a public facility and it’s free but it isn't located in any major city so you have to hike or find a ride to actually get there. There are also a few private aquariums on the island I've been to but there's no way you can get to those.
Arizona Docent said:
As a child in Los Angeles I visited these now-closed places: Busch Gardens, Japanese Deer Park, California Alligator Farm, Marineland. As an adult I visited the now-closed Ontario Mills indoor zoo (I forget the actual name) and Tiger Rescue (or something like that - a mess of a place in Colton).
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And then you go even further back with the Griffith park zoo, Catalina island bird park, west lake zoo, the ostrich farm, selig zoo, Ocean Aquarium, lion country safari. More recently Shambala and the Sea Life center also both closing it really is a shame.
 
I forgot I also went to Lion Country Safari. I did not know that Shambala had closed. Not sure if that's a shame or not. I did visit it and visited the other major animal rescue center in the area, Wildlife Waystation, which is closed as well.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I forgot I also went to Lion Country Safari. I did not know that Shambala had closed. Not sure if that's a shame or not. I did visit it and visited the other major animal rescue center in the area, Wildlife Waystation, which is closed as well.
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No not shambala I meant the waystation, they’re just so close and so similar I mix them up. I do have some pictures and slides of the old lion country Safari. I really need to post all my old photos and slides someday.
 
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